The Genus Toxothrix

Abstract

The first description of a bacterium that produced twisted bundles of thin filaments which contained oxidized iron was given by Cholodny (1924). He called this organism Leptothrix trichogenes,the filament-producing Leptothrix. The flexible bacterium was observed in a water basin next to the river Dnjepr near Kiev, Russia. Its cells (diameter approximately 0.5 μm) were connected to form a trichome of up to 400 μm in length. A peculiar movement was observed: the U-shaped trichome glided with its rounded part forward; both ends of the trichome left bundles of twisted filaments of polymer as parallel “railroad tracks.” Occasionally, parts of the bundles appeared to be drawn out in a fanshaped fashion (Figs. 1a, 2).